Breath of Heaven

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ² If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

³ But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. ⁴ For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ That is why, when Christcame into the world, he said to God,

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
    But you have given me a body to offer.
⁶ You were not pleased with burnt offerings
    or other offerings for sin.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
    as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” (Psalm 40:6-8 NLT)

⁸ First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). ⁹ Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. ¹⁰ For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. (Hebrews 10:1-10, NLT)

Good Friday, three days before Easter, is celebrated in remembrance of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. In the Scripture passage above, the writer of the book of Hebrews explains why Jesus suffered and died over 2000 years ago. Under the old covenant, God had given his people a way to be cleansed from their sins.  But this sacrificial system was only temporary, until God gave up His only son, Jesus, to sacrifice His life for us once and for all.

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gavehis one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17, NLT)

It can be easy to read the words “He gave his…Son” in John 3:16 without fully reflecting on how he was given. Easter is a pretty holiday: pretty flowers, pretty dresses, pretty jellybeans. And it should be. Easter is a celebration of resurrection, an acknowledgement that He who died for us now lives. The miracle of forgiveness and promise of eternal life is beautiful.

But the sacrifice on Good Friday was far from pretty. Death by crucifixion was, by design, a lengthy process. Eventually, a person being crucified died by asphyxiation due to the inability to breathe properly. The weight of the body supported on stretched arms and chest restricted lung expansion, making it difficult to exhale. Those hanging on a cross would try to push themselves up with their feet in order to snatch some kind of breath, which is why the soldiers on duty ended up breaking the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. Their deaths were simply taking too long.

Breathing is voluntarily controlled by muscles in your chest and abdomen. The diaphragm is the main muscle used for breathing. It is a dome-shaped muscle below your lungs, separating the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity.  When you breathe in or inhale, your diaphragm contracts and moves downward. This increases the space in your chest cavity, allowing the air to flow in, expanding the lungs.  When you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its domelike shape.  As air moves out of the lungs, they deflate on their own, much like an elastic balloon will deflate if left open to the air. 

Good Friday was not a pretty sight, but Jesus as the sacrificial lamb was good. His breath left Him on the cross so that we might have new life breathed into our souls by the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven He spoke these words to his disciples.

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance forthe forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24: 44-49, ESV)

This final message from Jesus to His disciples is also for you and me. By the power of the Holy Spirit, share the good news and bring hope to a broken world. With every breath we take, we have an opportunity to magnify and worship the Lord.

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